3 good reasons to drink red wine

Most of us enjoy a good drop of red. The fact that it can help stave off serious health issues is an added bonus. Here are three reasons to say cheers to good health.

Oenophiles rejoice. Drinking a glass or two of red wine with a meal could decrease a person's chances of having a stroke, heart attack, bowel and aero-digestive cancer as well as other diseases; it might also be good for the brain and quite probably increases longevity, say experts.

Heart health

Canadian and US analysts recently reviewed 84 alcohol studies to come to the conclusion that drinking a small amount of alcohol reduces the overall risk of death from cardiovascular causes by 15 to 25 per cent.

Creina Stockley, Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI) manager health and regulatory information, says drinking red wine in moderation has even greater benefits.

"People that drink a moderate amount of wine regularly, particularly with food, have a 30 per cent reduced risk of heart diseases.

"Red wine is good for you in moderation – with one- to two-glasses a day there is a reduced risk of heart disease. When you drink more than that, the risk of heart disease increases," she adds.

Cancer

Stockley, a clinical pharmacologist with 20 years experience at the AWRI, says drinking red wine has also been proven to reduce the risk of several types of cancer.

"Alcohol is a risk factor for certain cancers, but we also know wine reduces the risk of other cancers like bowel and lung cancer and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma."

Studies have shown drinking red wine in moderation can reduce risks of aero-digestive tract, lung cancers and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma by 20-40 per cent as well as bowel cancer by around 20 per cent, says Stockley.

"Phenolic compounds [found heavily in red wine] work by preventing the initiation, progression and growth of cancer cells," she says.

Elixir of life

Having a drink doesn't necessarily spell killed brain cells, if drunk in moderation, red wine can actually improve cognitive function say the experts.

"Drinking red wine appears to reduce or prevent the decrease in your ability to think, reason and remember," she adds.

"It may also reduce your risk of developing certain dementias such as Alzheimer's."

David Sinclair, professor and co-director of the Glenn Labs for Molecular Biological Aging at Harvard Medical School agrees: "We believe resveratrol [found heavily in red wine] protects from aging and disease."

Not all grapes are created equal. White wine contains resveratrol but not as much as red and scientists believe Pinot Noir grapes have the highest concentration of the compound.